Lose For Good donors fight to fill nutrition gap

Martin Griff / The Times of TrentonWeight Watchers Barb Ulrich and Nick Giambrone of Trenton sort thrrough Homefront food donations at the RWJ Center for Health & Wellness in Hamilton on Wednesday, October 19, 2011. Weight Watchers clients who have lost large amounts donated that weight in food to the Homefront charity.

Since joining Weight Watchers in 2003, Nick Giambrone has done something many people struggling with weight problems aspire to: he not only lost 150 pounds, he has kept it off.

Giambrone of Trenton, who once weighed in at 365 pounds, is reminded of what he once carried each year when he donates 150 pounds of food to Weight Watchers’ Lose For Good food drive, which concluded Wednesday.

“The funny thing is, I need help to carry it all in,” he said.

Giambrone isn’t alone in his altruism. Four Mercer County Weight Watchers groups participated in the Fourth Annual Lose For Good food drive campaign. As local Weight Watchers members lost weight, they also collected food to donate to HomeFront to help their neighbors in need. Within seven weeks, the group collected more than 3,000 pounds of food — over one and a half tons.

“I’m so proud of Nick,” said local Weight Watchers leader Barb Ulrich. “He attends every meeting and he has only missed two in the last eight years. He is so dedicated to living this lifestyle, and he is an inspiration. He shows other people that this can be done.

When he brings in his food, he pulls up in a pickup truck and brings it in so proudly. He carried 150 pounds on his body, and he can’t carry it into the meeting room as a donation.”

Ulrich said the program serves two purposes: to raise food for those in need and to keep Weight Watchers members on track.

“Each year, as people participate in this program, they are reminded that they took off that weight, and as a bonus they get to do something special for people, so everybody wins,” she said.

HomeFront helps to keep Mercer County families from becoming homeless through their food pantry program. The organization distributes more than 700 bags of free groceries to low-income families each month. HomeFront also coordinates the delivery of donated hot meals prepared by area congregations and community groups.

“The Lose For Good campaign provides a chance for folks to adopt a healthier lifestyle, reduce their weight and help someone in need,” said Ulrich, whose group meets at the Robert Wood Johnson Center for Health and Wellness in Hamilton.

Ulrich expressed pride in her members, and said each year exceeds her expectations.
“I have the best group. We really do collect a lot of food,” she said, “They give from the heart.”

Giambrone’s weight-loss journey began when his daughter was getting married. He wanted to slim down to walk his petite daughter down the aisle. He said that the Weight Watchers program really worked, and he is happy to give back his lost weight in the form of food donations each year. He said he makes continual trips to supermarkets to load up on donations.

“I grab macaroni, that’s a pound a box,” he said. “I load it up in a wagon and wheel it in.”
He said he still can’t believe how much weight was once on his frame. Where he used to wear 5XL shirts and pants with a 62-inch waist, he now wears large shirts and fits comfortably into a 40-inch waist.

Ulrich said she marvels at the amount of food that has been collected this year, and will be tearful as the food is wheeled out for distribution.

“Our final collection exceeded our goal. It’s amazing to see all of the food spread out,” she said.

The Lose For Good campaign’s goal is to bridge the family nutrition gap. In the United States, 17.1 million homes lack access to the right kind of food for a healthy life, according to the nonprofit Food Resource and Action Center.